Gilliland in the #21 at Atlanta

UPDATE #2 Bill Elliott has cracked three ribs riding his dirt bike. "It was just a freak deal," Elliott said. He said although he probably could have raced in pain, he decided to step out of the Wood Brothers Ford for this weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway because he didn't want to jeopardize the team's chances of running well in the Pep Boys Auto 500. "I just decided that those boys had worked so hard on the car it wouldn't be fair for me to have a problem and mess them up," Elliott said. David Gilliland, who lost his regular ride to Bobby Labonte, will drive in Elliott's place this weekend. "He runs good at Atlanta, so they should be OK," Elliott said. "And I'll be back in the car for Kansas. Racin' Today

09/04/09 This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' now. David Gilliland will be taking over the driving duties of the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion this weekend for the Pep Boys Auto 500, filling in for Bill Elliott. Elliott is experiencing some back problems and uncertain how he will feel driving the car. Co-owner Eddie Wood stated, "Given the modified practice schedule where the practices and qualifying are all being done on Saturday, we didn't feel there was enough time to make changes to the seat if Bill wasn't comfortable and we needed to get another driver. We called David to see if he was available. Thankfully he was and agreed to help." Gilliland has 6 starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway with his best finish (15th) coming in 2006. Wood Brothers Racing

09/04/09 The Wood Brothers just announced David Gilliland to drive the #21 car this weekend in Atlanta. A press release with more details is coming soon. Motorcraft's Facebook page